Cherimon  Forever Mine?
by StolenLastMonday
Summary: Charlie McDonnell/charlieissocoollike  and Alex Day/nerimon SLASH. Charlie has a crush on Alex, but has kept the secret for a while. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, will he find a way to tell Alex? YouTube
1. Chapter 1

Greetings scrawny humans, you will bow before me!

Er, I mean welcome to the first chapter of this Cherimon collaborative journey! *audience claps*. Today I am proud to release to you, the first three chapters!

Just as a note these were pretty much written by StuckWithWords, and edited by me. Chapter 4 (which we are working on as I type) will be more of the both of us.

Stay tuned, and please, please review! We will both reply to them on our individual accounts

-peachieO

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><p>"Hurry up, Charlie!"<p>

I rolled my eyes as I hastily locked the door to my and Alex's house. He could be so impatient sometimes. I turned around, shoved my key into my pants pocket, and carefully descended the steps on the brick path leading to the driveway. The chill hit my neck, and I zipped my favorite blue hoodie a little higher against the frigid air. I really should have been wearing a winter jacket, but it was too late to turn back now.

The small shrubs lining the walkway, once a cheery green, were now brittle and bare, as well as the trees all over town. A thin layer of snow topped ice created a frozen slick over the lawn and pavement, causing me to lose my footing every few steps. The biting wind tugged at my hair, and with in seconds I looked like I'd just crawled out of bed. I hated this type of weather. But, whether I liked it or not, it was the beginning of February.

As I approached Alex's silver Taurus, he honked the horn obnoxiously from the front seat. The noise startled me, and nearly sent me tripping over my feet. When I regained my footing I could see him grinning impishly through the windshield. Apparently, he was rather pleased with himself for scaring the Daleks out of me, and nearly sending me sliding down the driveway. I carefully jogged the remaining five feet to the passenger seat. Alex always insisted on driving every time we took the same car, and how could I argue with a free chauffeur?

I opened the door and climbed inside. Essence of Alex's Ralph Lauren Polo 3 cologne lingered in the air, and it drove me crazy. I smiled as he put the heat on full force, and attempted to thaw my fingers in front of the vent. The stereo was connected to Alex's iPhone, quietly playing... Forever Yours? I smirked, trying to cover a chuckle as I buckled my seat belt. He could be pretty cocky sometimes, and God was it cute. He smiled back at me with that cheeky grin of his, as if reading my thoughts.

It was that same grin that made The Nermie Army swoon, myself included. _'Nice attempt at modesty, Alex'_. I thought as I tried to resist laughing out loud. Alex lifted his left elbow to lean against the top of his seat. He turned to survey the surroundings before slowly backing out of the driveway. Sure, he could be cocky, but he usually didn't let it go to his head.


	2. Chapter 2

On to Chapter 2!  
>And hey, just thought I'd mention if you like where this is going (or could be going, really at this point...) then you might be interested in our individual works.<p>

I can't link you to us as FF won't allow that, but our usernames are StuckWithWords and peachieO. You can also just search up "cherimon" and you'll see stories by me (StuckWithWords removed hers).

Also an aside: we're both American, so sorry in advance

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><p>For a few minutes, Alex and I sat in silence, accompanied only by the sound of the old wheezing engine. It was a comfortable silence, we'd gotten so used to each other we didn't always feel the need to speak. I leaned my left elbow against the arm rest, placed my chin in my hand, and stared mindlessly out the window. A few minutes after the song ended, Alex cleared his throat and asked,<p>

"What are you getting at the mall, Charlieburg?" My ears perked up at the sound of his voice and, while I pretended to be utterly embarrassed, my nickname always made me smile as this happy little bubble rose up inside of me. I took my head off my hand, and instead gazed at the ever approaching road in front of us through the glass.

"I don't know." I replied after a moment. It was true; I actually hadn't given much thought as to what I wanted to purchase.

"Really?" Alex sounded surprised. "No new ukulele? Or red hair dye? Or, I don't know... maybe a better "How-to-Ride-a-Unicycle" guide?" I could hear the simper in his voice without even looking at him. I turned my head, as his eyes quickly glanced towards mine. I was right: a sarcastic mock-grin rested on his flushed cheeks. His brown hair was slightly messy and longer than it usually was, but it fit his face nicely. Like me, he wore his favorite hoodie, a white one printed with fake tire tracks, stains and dirt. Strange, yes, but I loved Alex's quirky fashion style.

His eyes quickly flicked back to the road and he said, "I need a new pair of jeans." I smiled and looked down at the ones he was wearing now. They were the black skinny jeans with a sort of white tie-die pattern going up from ankle to hip. '_Don't stare... Don't stare.._.' I told myself aggressively. '_could you be more obvious? Just look away!'_ But the more I tried to stop thinking about what was under those jeans, the more I did, and the tighter my pants became. I dropped my left arm from the arm rest and placed both hands, intertwined, across my lap. I then quickly spoke up before the silence seemed awkward.

"You _need_?" I asked jokingly. Alex laughed out loud. It was that cute guffaw that always made me laugh along too.

"Oh, Charlie." he sighed as he turned the bend. "You know me too well."

And yet there was so much he didn't know about me.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapt- Really, you probably already know what chapter this is so I'm going to stop announcing it.

Again, reviews are great! (especially if you read these first 3 chapters in a row, and are only stopping to think about reviewing now)

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><p>"How does a Dalek keep its skin clean?"<p>

"Charlie, that's _so_-"

"_How_ does a a dalek keep its skin clean?" I repeated.

We walked side by side: Alex on my left, with hands in his sweater pockets, peering through the store windows as we walked past them. We had just walked into the mall and were still trying to shake off the cold breeze from the outside. Alex sighed and cocked his head towards me with adorable sass and mock annoyance, but I could see the corner of the grin he was trying to suppress.

"_How_?" he sounded mildly exasperated, but still interested. Those hazel eyes of his gazed down at me, and I felt a hidden glee knowing that even if only for a minute he was focused only on me. Just as I was about to deliver the extremely cheesy punchline (_Exfoliate! Exfoliate!_), I was interrupted by shrill squeals.

Alex and I both stopped walking and turned around to find three girls, huddled together, following us from about ten feet behind. They looked a few years younger than us, maybe eighteen or nineteen. On the left side of the clique was a tall brunette with long curls resting over her shoulders and oddly tan skin for the middle of February. To the right stood an average-height girl with short ginger hair, freckles, and hipster glasses; and in the middle, a short rather short, yet very attractive blond. When they saw we had noticed them, all three stopped dead in their tracks. They then grabbed each other's arms, and shrieked even louder. Oh, the awkwardness of getting recognized in public. I never knew how to-

"ALEX DAY!" the brunette screamed. All at once, the three girls came running up to us. Or, should I say, _Alex_. I barely ducked out of the way in time as they basically trampled over Alex.

"Like, _OH MY GAWD_!" the blond exclaimed. She stood directly in front of him as she fought off her friends, or from where I stood competitors for Alex's attention, trying to steal her position. "I can't believe its _you_! We all, like, _thought_ it was you, but we weren't sure-"

"_I_ saw you first!" the tall, curly-haired chick interrupted as she unsuccessfully tried to push the middle girl out of the way. Throughout the commotion Alex just smiled sheepishly down at his converse. Although he didn't admit it, I knew he loved this kind of attention he got every so often. "Can we get a picture?" the redhead asked as she rummaged through her purse. I observed all this nonsense as I backed up from the mini-mob and leaned against the glass of a children's clothing store. _'This might take a while.'_ I thought miserably.

"We're SUCH big fans of your videos!" the blond, no doubtingly the alpha female, cooed as she coquettishly tossed her hair over her shoulder. The other two "yeah"ed in agreement, as Alex thanked them modestly.

"Excuse me? Carl?" I looked up: it was the redhead girl again. She now stood in front of me and held out a digital camera at arm's length.

"Its _Charlie_." I corrected her, trying my best to hide my annoyance. The other two girls turned around from Alex to look at me pleadingly. 'Stupid girls, always thinking they could get whatever they want, whoever they want, just by a smile and a flutter of eyelashes.' I sighed a little. "Sure." I grudgingly took the camera as the fangirls bickered about who was going to stand next to Alex. In the end, I managed to take three hideous pictures of the bleached blond bitch on Alex's left side, and the other two sharing his right. He placed both his arms around their shoulders, and it seemed as though they would explode from giddiness. All of them looked obnoxious and annoying, if that was possible in a picture. But not Alex, though; he looked as fit as ever. I quickly handed the camera back to its owner, desperate to get back to Alex and my "alone time". Sure we got a lot at home, but I wasn't about to forfeit an extra chance to be with Alex.

"Bye, Alex!" the girls called, looking behind them and stumbling over each other as they walked the opposite way.

"Bye, girls!" Alex responded with a smile and wave. Other mall-goers had noticed the swarm, and were whispering to each other, wondering what movie or TV show Alex could be from. He then turned back to me and let out a big breath. "Well that was fun, wasn't it, mate?". Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

"You needed pants, right?"

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><p>Also again, we're both American<br>and Chapter 4 picks up...


	4. Chapter 4

Hooray! The much anticipated Chapter 4!  
>well at least it was on our end, and it's our favourite so far. We're getting better at this whole working together thing. Enjoy!<p>

Also don't feel awkward about pointing out spelling and grammatical mistakes or cultural screw ups.

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><p>We continued walking through what seemed to be an ever-expanding mall. We approached the stairs, Alex now with an extra spring in his step and a delighted twinkle in his eye. The jealousy made me feel hollow and ugly, but I couldn't help hate how much Alex liked getting along with those girls. After all, he wasn't known as "The Lady's Man of Youtube" for nothing.<p>

As we started up a conversation about nothing in particular, I couldn't help but notice all of the decorations around the mall. Pink and white seemed to be seeping out of every shop, door way, and windowsill. With giant plastic hearts, tinsel, and an inordinate amount of lace almost every store alerted shoppers of a weekend discount for that "special someone".

This got me thinking... What should I get Alex for Valentine's Day? Would he be anticipating a gift, and planning one for me in return? Or is exchanging presents on the most romantic day or the year "too gay" for best, and only friends? I guess this is something we should've discussed beforehand, but that probably would have been a slightly awkward conversation.

As we passed numerous stores, I peered through the glass. Giant boxes of chocolates and enormous bouquets of flowers were displayed in a flamboyant and tacky manner. Most of it was the same mass produced, cookie cutter stuff anyone would expect to see. Then a large stuffed bear in a shop window caught my attention. As we passed, I stopped to admire it. It was what must have been a three foot tall white teddy bear, with a red bow tie and heart for a nose. It was holding a pink heart-shaped cushion, and as I craned my neck to look closer, I saw the words "Will you be mine?" were stitched in white elegant script. I couldn't help but smile. Even as a 21 year old guy, I still have a soft spot for plushie toys. Alex had stopped when he saw that I had, and was smiling at the bear as I turned around.  
>"Cute." he remarked, smiling a little. He then lifted his eyes from it and proceeded walking.<p>

I happily followed Alex into the shop, and we wandered back to the jeans display. The store was a bit quirky, with a modge-podge of fashions around it. From some rather eighties-looking neon spandex something, to huge trousers adorned with chains that somewhat reminded me of a certain bluenette. I watched Alex as he happily looked through and inspected every garment, making considerations and weighing colour against pattern. The happy fixation was plainly visible in his face. I didn't really care about the clothing, but watching his concentrated frown and slight furrowing of his brows as he scrutinized the fabric was, I realized, becoming a guilty pleasure of mine. He eventually pulled out three pairs: One a lurid orange, with blue spots that appeared to eat away at the vibrant colour; a garish green one that nearly made my pupils bleed ; and lastly, one in vivid red and orange tie-dye

I walked behind him towards the dressing rooms. I guess being the best friend did have some extra benefits after all, such as Alex stepping out of the changing room and turning around while requesting my opinion on the horrid green ones. I felt a tiny bit bad, but when you get down to it, he's really saying, 'Look at my ass. How does it look in this pair?

As always, it looks fabulous. But the jeans don't seem to be Alex Day.

"I don't know," I answered, contemplating on how to voice my real thoughts without sounding like a prick. "Those don't seem to... fit right. How about the other ones?" I tell him, motioning towards the orange pair hanging on the doorknob. He smiled and gave me a nod as he grabbed them and stepped back into fitting room. When he steps out and models for me again, they are definitely Alex Day, as are the tie dye ones that follow.

Sometimes I'm almost worried Alex knows my "weakness" and likes to secretly tease me. Like when he turned back around, his backside facing me, and then "accidentally" drops his Sopio wristband. I swear, it shouldn't take that long to bend over and pick it up, but saying anything would be as good as admitting my secret.

As we approached the cash register, he deliberated for a bit between the orange and tie-die, but eventually decided to splurge and get both pairs.

By this time it's nearing lunch, and my stomach is making it's loud protest at the lack of food. Our next stop is the food court, which despite being mall food, isn't actually that bad. We go for 'Chinese'. It's never actually good enough to be considered 'good food' , but it's it's never so bad as to end the day with vomiting your guts out. Alex looks over at me as we approach the counter with a half stoned teenage cashier awaiting our orders.

"What do you want?" Alex asked me. Taken aback by his dominance, I mumbled

"Chicken" as the cashier gave us a funny look. Alex turns back with a smile at me and orders for the both of us. The best friend perks continue, and I am saved from the embarrassment of being obligated to actually communicate with other humans in this mall.

After getting our food, and a half-hearted argument with Alex over why he shouldn't pay for the both of us, (He won), we walked away with our trays. Mine looked like chicken lo mein, and some sort of pork in sauce. I pull the plastic wrapping off my fork and start twirling the noodles around it. A few bites into my food, I noticed Alex staring intentionally at me. I sit up, and wipe my mouth with my left sleeve.

"Try it." he motioned his fork towards my mouth, and I leaned forward to take the bite. His food is good. Having no idea what it was but not bothering to ask, I sit chewing and try not to think about how much it probably looks like we're on a date. But I can't kid myself... I know Alex, and I know this is just us being friends.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi this is StuckwithWords (the other intros were written by peachieO). Just wanted to say _thank you_ to everyone who has subscribed, favorited and reviewed this fic! We each read the reviews and we really appreciate every one of them *hint hint***

**now just 3 things:**

**1) Yes, we know Alex is now 23, but this was set Valentine's 2012**

**2) Hallmark (we don't know if they have Hallmark in the UK) is a store that sells seasonal stuff, greeting cards, and little gifty stuff. Like scarves and ornaments, and stuffed animals.**

**3) Also, we are aware "wouldn't've" isn't a word, but since "wouldn't" and "would've" are both words, and in spoken conversation one might well say "wouldn't've" I am using it as a word (same logic usually applied for other contractions that shouldn't exist).**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>We ate the rest of our food at a leisurely pace, and as we sat, we played our favorite pastime: inventing life stories for the people around us.<p>

"And that man _there_ is cheating on his wife with three other people while secretly supporting the long child of a fling he had with his sister eight years ago." Alex referenced the most innocent-looking man with glasses eating a slice of pizza. I rolled my eyes. What started as a fun game of 'That Guy is a Gigolo' quickly turned into an imagination competition. I took another bite of my noodles, and casually pointed my fork at a girl fervently texting in the corner.

"Well, _her_ dad sold her to the U.S. government who programmed her to be a sleeper agent ready to activate in the event of the zombie apocalypse. They released her back into the world to live a normal life when she was picked up by a gang who pimped her out to buy cocaine. She finally escaped and went to press charges, but they put a death threat on her, so she's currently in the witness protection program." As I finish, slightly out of breath, Alex gives me a small salute of respect.

"I don't think I can top that."

By now our food is mostly eaten, and what's left is cold and unappealing, so we toss it on our way out of the food court.

"I was thinking, before we head out, I might grab something for my mum." he said as we stepped onto the descending escalator.

I nod. "Great idea. I think I'll get my mom another creepy- er, _cuddly_ stuffed animal." Alex smiled, remembering my mum's almost obsessive collection of stuffed animals, which she loved to place in various places around the house.

"We parked by the Hallmark, so let's get that on the way out. I want to stop in and maybe get my mum a sweater or something."

"Sounds good." I reply. _'Shopping for adult women I don't know as well as I should really isn't my idea of 'fun', but really, Alex, anything with you sounds good.'_

Alex was a man on a mission. We went through several different shops, Alex looking through rack after rack of clothing mostly while I scanned through various sections. I couldn't stop looking at him, and his oblivious state of concentration only makes it easier for me.

Every time he looked my way, I quickly looked down as the color rose in my cheeks. I found I could hardly make eye contact with him anymore without blushing, and that was a constant reoccurrence. I reminded myself of a lovesick child in secondary school: having romantic feelings but not knowing what to make of them.

It wasn't always this way. It didn't even start until we first moved in together, and since then, I'd been living in fear that my best would find out I sorta had a giant crush on him. Plus, it was a bit difficult to get used to the sudden rush of endorphins every time he flashed a smile. It was like a permanent crush-high.

I didn't actually think Alex would hate me for it; he was a good guy, and pretty accepting of the gay community from what I had picked up here and there. I just didn't want to put a rift in our friendship. I just hated lying to him for all this time.

Alex calls me over,

"Hey, I think I might get my mum a coat. Her's is a bit worn out, but she won't get herself a new one." I nodded, and smiled. He really did care about people.

Maybe I could just-

No.

But then again, I'd feel better-

But what if things got awkward between us?

But we would get through it. He was my best friend; we could get through that zombie apocalypse together, if necessary.

But how could I do it? Valentine's Day was coming up, maybe that'd work.

Yeah, I'd do something for Valentine's. Like a nice present, then I'd tell him.

Unfortunately, everything looks so mundane. Sure, I could get him something practically sensible, like a new charger for his iPad - electrical tape can only hold appliances together for so long - but that didn't exactly seem right for accompanying the confession of my deepest secret I'd been withholding for months.

It wasn't like I had to decide right then, though. February fourteenth, wasn't for a while, so I had plenty of time. I could figure it out later.

I followed Alex into one more store, where he ran over to the women's section and triumphantly held up a long black winter coat with white buttons. "Yes, this is perfect." he said as he inspected the jacket. "Help me look for the right size". We pawed through the selection for a medium, but they seemed to have been out of stock. A well groomed man behind the desk with a creepy porn star mustache and teddy bear tie told us he can have it shipped to the store by the 13th. Alex told him it sounded good, and we headed for the Hallmark.

We fought through the Valentine's Day shopper explosion occupying the front half of the store, and made our way to the stuffed animal section near the back. I looked through the shelves.

'_She's got a pig, she's got a bear, she's got a-'_

"Hey Charlie!" I turned around to find Alex with a stuffed black cat on top of his head, looking up at it and balancing it with his arms outstretched. He was just too adorable sometimes.

"Hey, Charlie, can we get a cat?" he pleaded. I just had to laugh. Twenty-two years old, and he still acted like a child asking his mum for a pet. "Only if it's _that _one." I told him, pointing at the one resting on his poof. Alex jokingly pouted, and put the animal back on the shelf. I quickly selected a smaller white stuffed cat, and we were out of the store in just a few minutes.

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><p>it's going to get more interesting... trust us ;)<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a long one, but we don't think it should be split up. We hope you like it anyway ^_^**

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><p>"Charlie. Charlie. Charlie." I rolled over, awakened by some stabbing pokes to my forehead.<p>

I peeled my eyes open to find a shadowed figure looming over my head.

"Bloody-! The house better be on fire, Alex, if you're getting me up at this hour!" I groaned as I rolled over to glance at my digital clock. It was only 8:10, but only when my alarm sends rough vibrations through my sheets at 9:02 (that extra two minutes does wonders) do I usually drag myself out of bed.

Alex laughs, "Honestly, I didn't think that'd wake you up." He had a point.

"Well, what'd ya want?" I asked groggily.

"Can you go to that store in the mall for me?" he asked. "I forgot the name. The coat for my mum is supposed to come in today, but I forgot I'm going to a meet up with Ed to work on his new song. I won't be back 'til late," He smirked, then added, "but not too late, because I wanna make something special for dinner."

"Sure," I replied. "And yum." But now that I thought about it, was it normal for your best friend to plan a "special" dinner... just for the two of you?

"Thanks mate." He said as he left my room. I pulled the blankets back over me, and eventually drifted back to sleep.

At percisely 9:02, I was awakened by the strong trembling that shook my bed, accompanied by the usual obnoxious siren of the alarm. After about five minutes of staring at my ceiling had passed, I wandered down from Charlie Towers to the kitchen. Crunchy Nut seemed quite unappealing, so I tossed the box, and opted for just a cup of tea instead.

Nearing a quarter after eleven, after faffing around the house for a while, I got properly dressed and left for the mall.

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><p>With Alex, the mall was fine; enjoyable, actually. But alone, it was perfectly horrible. It was loud and crowded, and common courtesy was rarity. I quickly ducked into the store we were in a few days before and got the jacket for Alex's mum.<p>

And since wandering around the mall alone wasn't bad enough, I was wandering around the mall alone with a feminine jacket that clearly (or so I hoped) wasn't mine.

I headed through the mall toward the entrance that I came from when I hit what looked like a giant mob occupying the entire hallway. I leaned against the glass and waited for some of the mass to vacate the area. As I waited, I slightly turned my head, and something caught my eye. I turned around to look through the glass: it was a bear similar to the one from the other day, except except this one was brown and held a sign reading, "One More Day!"

One more day… 'til _what_?

_'Ohhh shit. One more day 'til Valentine's Day.'_

I could've sworn I still had a whole 'nother week! Turned out, even if you didn't look at a calendar, the days _still_ passed. _Crap._

What the hell was I going to get Alex?

I then abandoned my original plan of heading home, but instead started a frantic search through the mall, hoping I'd somehow find the right gift. A minute or so into the search, something caught my eye… again. But this time, it _was _that bear from last week, the white one with the heart "Will You be Mine?" pillow. It was a bit cheesy, sure, but it's pretty straight forward. Who said clichés were bad, anyway?

I threw a furtive glance behind me before walking into the store advertising the bear, like somehow Alex was going to materialize out of thin air. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice me in the crowdedness, and I walked into the knick-knack shop.

When I walked inside, I almost backtracked as I realized that, being a window display, the bear might not be for sale. I casually walked up behind the window with the stuffed animal and glanced down at it: there was a tag on the foot. Suddenly, it occurred to me how much of a shoplifter I must've looked like. I was buying something, for God's sake, and that wasn't a crime!

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><p>I fumbled with my key as I juggled everything in my arms, making sure not to drop anything on our muddy porch. As I finally managed to turn the key and push myslef inside, I was greated by the familiar call of, "Charlie?"<p>

Damn. What was Alex doing here? 'Late' typically doesn't mean early afternoon! I could now hear footsteps coming upstairs from the basement. I couldn't let him see what I bought! Too many questions that I really wasn't prepared to answer. Panicstriken, I frantically looked for a hiding place until my eyes darted down our hallway: the storage closet. I threw down the coat in its's plastic covering on our doormat, still grasping the bear, and sprinted the few steps to the closet (probably much more dramatic than was needed). I wrenched open the sticky door and pushed aside all of the spare wire hangers and jackets to shove the obese bear into it. After forcefully pushing it as deep into the closet as possible I rammed my hip into the door, listening for the latch to catch. I leaned against the wooden door and exhaled a deep breath: SAFE.

I looked up and saw Alex at the top of the stairs, right in front of the closet door I was guarding. He titled his head left and cocked an eyebrow at me quizically.

I gulped, "Uhh... spider."

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><p>"Alex, mix the pasta!" <em>'Where, oh where, could my ever-disappearing cooking assistant be this time?' <em>I chuckled to myself as I stirred the sauce, knowing _exactly_ where Alex was.

Dinner had been delayed two hours due to the Community season 3 marathon on the telly, and, well, how could we have just turned it_ off_? But now that it was well past dinner time Alex and I were both in the must-have-food-now state, and had chosed to simple reheat leftovers. So much for that special dinner.  
>"Sorry, sorry. I just had to collect 100 more rupees." Alex said as he rushed into the kitchen from the sitting area playing Zelda: <em>my<em> game, on _my_ console!

I smiled as he joined me by the front burners of the stove and starting mixing the rigatoni. Since I was righthanded and he was left, our elbows collided many times. You would've thought, us being best friends and all, that we would've learned what sides we'd have to stand on while next to each other... but nope. We both smiled as we switched positions, now I mixing the pasta on the right and he stirring the sauce on the left.

_'I have to do it. Tonight.'_ I told myself as I stirred, almost aggrssively. _'I just gotta go through with it; I'm half way there.' _I was, of course, discussing "The Plan" with myself.

_I just...have...to...'_

That's when it [really] hit me: how _was_ I going to do it? Sure, I had a gift to hand to him, but as far as words went, I had nothing. I didn't have so much time to think about it anymore; I've procrastinated far enough.

Interrupting my thoughts, Alex craned his neck over my work and asked, "Are they done yet?"

I somewhat jumped out of my worrisome trance and responded with, "Huh? oh, um yeah, I think so."

In just a few minutes, the table was set, the pasta was drained, and the Coke was poured. I sat in my usual spot across from Alex at our rectangular table, each of us seated on the longer sides to give us as much eating space as possible. Alex helped himself to a large portion of pasta with a heavy helping of tomato sauce, whereas I barely ate a thing. As hungry as I previously was, I found myself unconsciously stabbing several pieces of pasta with my fork skittishly. I knew what I was planning to do would probably change my life, but it would undoubtably change my relationship with Alex.

A few minutes into our quiet supper, Alex asked with a mouthful of food, "'You hungwy?"

I moved my eyes away from my fixation on my bowl of food and looked up at him: he held his fork in left hand and a buttered roll in his right, along with red sauce staining the edges of his mouth.

I smiled; his childish immaturity was weakening at times.

"Eh, not really." I replied apethetically.

Was I _really_ ready to come out to my best friend?

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><p><strong>also, thank you to ChurchRoofGirl for assisting us with some British lingo (Crunchy Nut &amp; Telly) :)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

_'Just go in there.' _I paced back and forth in front of the basement door.

_'Come on, you bought the frigging bear,_ just go in!'

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and reached my free hand... into my jeans pocket. I know, I know, I'm quite the procrastinator.

I took out my iPhone and pressed the home button, which lit up the lock screen picture of Alex and me at my family's house for Christmas, sitting cross-legged in front of the lit tree and wearing overly large Santa hats on our heads. I loved that picture of us; the smiles on our faces showed nothing but joy and having not a care in the world.

Above the picture was the time, which read "12:04 AM". So, technically, it _was_ Valentine's Day.

Since I didn't "slide to unlock", the screen went black after a few seconds. Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I tried swallowing down the butterflies, and finally placed my hand of the basement doorknob, turned, and pushed inside.

The sight of our messy kitchen from that night's dinner greeted me. My heart, which I could've sworn was beating at twice its normal pace, seemed to pulsate throughout my whole body.

Was I really going through with this?

Yes.

"No no no no... _damnit_!"

Alex, previously seated on our couch and leaning over the coffee table, threw aside his controller and ripped off his headset vigorously. "Fuck this level!" Alex slammed himself into the back of the couch and groaned.

_'Maybe I caught him at a bad time..._' I slowly tiptoed backwards towards the door. _'Another time would be bett-'_

"Hey Charlie." Alex called without looking behind him.

Stealth. That's a thing.

"Uhh, hey." I sputtered out. What was I supposed to do again?

I racked my brain for memory of what I rehearsed only a few moments ago, but alas, my mind was blank. All I could think to do was clutch what was in my left hand as tightly as possible.

Alex stood up from the sofa, the back of his map-of-the-United-States t-shirt facing me, and stretched.

_'Oh shit. What do I do now?'_ I thought frantically. _'Should I run? Should I-'_

"Hey hey, what's _that?_" Alex had turned around and was now walking towards me. His eyes were fixed on what I held in my left hand.

I was immediately rooted to the spot, and felt the adrenaline rush through my brain as I tried to think of a good excuse: Nothing. Useful thing, my brain.

At this moment Alex stood in front of me with confusion and curiosity evident in his face. His eyes twinkled as a child's would: full of adorableness and innocence.

I couldn't do this to him anymore. The secrecy wasn't fair to either of us; I couldn't lie to my best friend any longer. I took a deep breath and thrusted the bear I held into his arms.

"What?" he asked, chuckling, as he held it with both hands facing him. Then, his eyes fell down to the heart it was holding.

"Will You Be..." he read aloud. He now squinted to read what I had added in black Sharpie in the middle, "_**Forever **_Mine?"

He looked back at me, with now only confusion on his flawless face.

That was it, I couldn't resist any longer: I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his.

Wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him further into my grasp, I realized I had been wanting to do this for far longer than I thought.

I felt Alex drop the bear and go rigid beneath my arms and lips, but I didn't dare open my eyes just yet. I needed to enjoy this as long and as much as possible before the glory died, and the reality settled. Was he kissing me back? I had no idea; I was enjoying myself too much to tell.

Finally I released him, and shyly glimpsed up at him. His expression was illegible, but his hazel eyes seemed to ask too many questions for me to answer right now.

Before I lost any of the courage I discovered I suddenly had, I unraveled my arms from his neck and whispered in his ear,

**"Happy Valentine's Day, Alex."**

_Fin_

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><p><strong>Well, that was it! We hope you enjoyed this heart hammering, nail-biting Cherimon journey.<strong>

**Join us next time on "Fanfictions We Are Writing Instead of Doing Actual Productive Things". ;)**

**Please review if you enjoyed! 3**

**-StolenLastMonday-**


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